The Norwin Boys’ Wrestling team geared up for a competitive season. The boys team in 2024-25 was the first team to ever qualify for the state championship last year, and the expectation was high again this year.
“Norwin’s team for the next few years is state champion caliber,” junior Coleton Klipa stated.
The boys won their first match 31-24 against Canon-McMillan. This was a big win for the Knights and a great start to the season.
“We were the 8th and 9th [ranked] teams in the state, and it was a statement match. Winning showed that we were there to compete,” senior Jack White explained.
Some of the wrestlers explained how the team has continually developed really well and hoped to be the best wrestling team in Norwin’s history.
“My goal this season was to place at the state tournament and win counties,” junior Nathan Klingensmith exclaimed.
The team is strong at all weights. At 120 lbs, they have Landon Sidun, a Penn State commit, who won the state title last year.
The team had been preparing with practices four days a week before the official season and practices six times a week during the official season. The boys wrestle for 1.5 hours and then lift weights for 1.5 hours each.
“Our training partners are all solid, and everyone on the team pushes each other to do better. I believe our coaching staff is the best in the state,” White said.
Freshman, Noah Curren, and sophomore, Klipa, have really stepped up in the team role. The upperclassmen explained how it is nice to have new kids really pushing the team.
Moreover, the Knights lost Class of 25’ graduates, Gage Mamie and Nick Puskar, who were key members on the team. Juniors, Klingensmith and Riley Shaffer, have stepped into their roles and are performing really well.
The Knights traveled to the Springfield Duals located in Philadelphia.
The boys wrestled against Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, Chichester Springfield Delco, William Penn Charter, and Malvern Prep.
Norwin dominated by winning 78-0 against Springside, 71-6 against Chichester Springfield, 70-3 against Springfield Delco, and 62-9 against William Penn Charter.
Unfortunately, the boys lost 5-62 to Malvern Prep.
Despite the loss to Malvern Prep, the team had a great start to its season. With a variety in age, the team hopes to continue to develop throughout the season and for years to come.
The boys were ready for a tough season and were determined to go back to state.
“The team will end up wherever they end up. I do not have expectations for the athletes other than having great attitude and effort,” head coach Kyle Martin explained.
With dominance in all weights, the boys had a historical season.
They were the first team in the Norwin wrestling program to win counties, win first place team title at the Penn Manor tournament, compete in the WPIAL finals as a team, and win 2nd in the AAA category in the PIAA state championship.
“I think the biggest part of our success as a team this year was having each others backs and pushing one another in the practice room,” sophmore Dom Butera exclaimed. “We put in tons of hard work going back to last summer and it feels great being part of history and setting the tone for years to come for the program.”
Many of the wrestlers explained how having strong team chemistry played an extremely big role in making them successful. Without that team bond, they may not have been as successful as they were.
“The team was very successful for many reasons, one being that we worked very hard and helped each other,” freshman Noah Curren expressed. “But the biggest reason we had major success was the aspect of our team. We became more than a team this year, we were family. We helped each other through rough times and motivated each other. I think that made a huge difference.”
The boys worked tirelessly with countless hours of practice, weight-making, and mental preparation. Their hard work truly paid off because they made history. The team will go down as one of Norwin’s bests sports teams.
“When we would have tough practices we looked at them as an opportunity and we would push each other through them,” Klingensmith explained. “We did a lot of hard practices and hard lifts not only throughout the regular season, but during the off season. Nearly the whole team was doing these lifts and practices, I think that helped with our success. It feels really cool being a part of the first Norwin team to ever go as far as we did in the state tournament because I grew up with everyone on the team, so being able to make history with my best friends, from when I was 5, is a really cool experience.”
Unfortunately, the boys lost the section, WPIAL, and state title to their rivals, the Franklin Regional Panthers. Norwin wrestling has something to keep them pushing themselves to work harder everyday.
“Myself and the team will continue to train immediately after the season and over the summer with our strength program as well as our freestyle and greco RTC,” Klipa stated.
Despite the tough outcome, this backyard rivalry will continue to bring excitement to WPIAL wrestling for years to come. Norwin and Franklin Regional will continue to face off in neck to neck matches.
“It feels amazing to be the best team in Norwin’s wrestling history. But, we are not satisfied,” Curren expressed. “We look to work harder and make jumps to be the best we can and we hope to show that next year.”
Some of the younger wrestlers on Norwin’s team explained how they are ready to immediately put the work in. They want to continue to improve the program and make more history. The team is truly full of grit and determination.
“We’re going to have to buy in as a team and put in a lot of time and hard work through the off season,” Butera exclaimed.
Although the team is losing some key seniors, like Tanner Shaffer and Jack White, the team will find boys to step up. Norwin wrestling will continute to grow and will hopefully show more success.
The team hopes to continue to make more history and is hungry for more.
